In a season full of learning experiences, Geno Smith found out Thursday night in Foxborough, Mass., how quickly a game can unravel in the NFL.

Upon watching footage of the Jets' 13-10 loss to the New England Patriots, Smith said he was trying to "force" passes aimed at covered receivers during the fourth quarter of the game. The harsh result: Three interceptions and a frustrating Jets loss.

"We played a clean game for about three and a half quarters," Smith said today. The "last 12 plays of the game, in my opinion, were fairly sloppy. I think I tried to force things. (It) didn’t work out for us, but we’re moved on from it and now it’s time to focus on Buffalo."

Video: Jets Rex Ryan on Geno Smith: 'He is the guy this week' New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan thinks you get into trouble when you put dates on things, instead of focussing on one week. As he spoke on who is starting at quarterback going forward. Ryan said 'he is the guy this week' in speaking about Geno Smith starting against the Bills this week. (Video by William Perlman/The Star-Ledger)

The Buffalo Bills, the opponent Sunday at MetLife Stadium, will try to lure Smith into continuing a troublesome trend. In two regular-season starts, Smith has turned the ball over five times. In his only start of the preseason, he threw three first-half interceptions against the Giants.

Perhaps Smith's propensity for turnovers is why Mark Sanchez -- Smith's predecessor at quarterback and also a player known for turning the ball over -- Thursday said he had won the Jets' quarterback job before injuring his right shoulder against the Giants.

Smith would not address Sanchez's words -- "Those are his comments and that's his opinion," Smith said. "That's all there is to it -- saying instead he is focused on correcting his mistakes against the Patriots and preparing the face the Bills.

"In those tight spaces, with the game on the line, you’ve got to be 100 percent precise and I don’t think I was on those throws," Smith noted. "Like I said, I moved on from it. I’m still confident and prepared for this upcoming week."

Smith said the loss to the Patriots, which he blamed after the game on his three turnovers, stung into the weekend.

"The next day I was still just kind of thinking about the things I could’ve done, but that’s the game," Smith said. "You’ve got move on from it. I watched tape, sometimes in bitterness. (I’m) kind of mad at myself for some of the plays that I know I can easily make (and) some of the decisions that I made that ultimately cost us the game. (It’s a) learning experience. You move on from it and get better next week."

This week's challenge is a defense that aggressively pursues the quarterback. It is designed by Mike Pettine, who until this season served as Rex Ryan's defensive coordinator with the Jets. Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, the Bills defensive end Mario Williams set a franchise record with 4 1/2 sacks.

Smith will have an extra day to prepare, a "bonus practice," Ryan called it today, as the Bills recuperate from Sunday's late victory. The rookie quarterback said there is a sense of familiarity with Pettine's defense, which looks similar to Ryan's unit, the one he faces every day in practice. But he also expects the Bills to integrate some new schemes.

"They’ll try and confuse me and send some looks I probably haven’t seen before," Smith said. "But for the most part, watching them on tape, they do mix it up. Multiple fronts. Multiple blitzes. It’s going to take some extra preparation. I’ve got to be able to see it out there on the field, see everything clearly. I’ve been watching a ton of tape. I’ll be here all night and tomorrow watching tape. So, I’ll be prepared for it."

To combat the Bills pass rush, Smith might use his legs more than he did in New England, when at times he seemed reluctant to scramble past the line of scrimmage -- something he did effectively in Week 1.

“When you’ve got the defense’s back to you a lot of times and that rush is coming, sometimes there’s some plays to be made out there,” Ryan said. “Obviously, you’ve got to go through your progressions and you’re trying to throw the ball down the field, but if it’s taken away from you, then it’s not a bad deal to take off with it.”

Smith also noted that he has not lost confidence in his receivers, who dropped a number of passes Thursday night.

"I do believe that my receivers will improve on that," Smith said. "I know those guys do a tremendous job after practice, getting on the jugs and doing things to make sure that they don’t drop those passes. I know that’s part of the game. You have drops. I’m going to continue to go to those guys because I believe they can make those catches and I know they will."